Av Hazard publicizes safety and operational concerns to help prevent accidents but it works only if we hear from you. Use the postage-free Av Hazard card to describe the hazard and return it to Pro Pilot. To obtain an official FAA review send NASA an ASRS form. For immediate action, call the airport, FBO, ATC, FSDO or the 24-hour FAA Safety Hotline at 800-255-1111. Note: Telephone numbers for all US Towers and ARTCCs are published in Ac-U-Kwik and Pilots Express Airport/ Heliport/FBO directories. To report safety concerns outside the US, contact ICAO HQ at 514-954-8219 or via fax at 514-954-6077. ICAO has worldwide telephone and fax numbers to expedite Av Hazard reports to civil aviation authorities.

Worn taxiway and patience at 5T6

At 5T6 (Santa Teresa NM), the taxi stripes between the runway and Taxiway A2 are missing. This makes it hard to see the taxiway at night or when it is snowing or raining, or in poor visibility due to blowing dust in the spring.

Airport tenants have complained about the situation for over 2 years, but nothing gets done. The situation gets worse when airport management allows the weeds to get taller than the taxiway lights. When a complaint was made to the airport manager, he said, "It is not a legal requirement." I asked him, "Why don't you do it to be nice?" He replied that he "wasn't hired to be nice." Also, the whole operation area should be kept clear of gravel.
__ ATP. King Air 200

The contributor sent a letter to FAA and AOPA FSF to raise the concern to a higher level. Thank you for not waiting for someone else to take the initiative. Hopefully, since FAA is under intense scrutiny, some action will result. Another avenue to pursue for airport improvements is via the New Mexico Dept of Transportation Aviation Division at nmshtd.state.nm.us/main.asp?secid= 10871.

Unpublished frequencies

We fly into many uncontrolled airports all over the US. Many times we ask the approach controller the best way to get an IFR outbound. We find a lot of unpublished frequencies to get clearances on the ground or shortly after liftoff. Once we even got a frequency from an FBO that the controller didn't know about. Why can't these be published on the charts? I think it would be much safer for all involved.
__ ATP. Citation XLS

Frequency banter

Airspace in the US is the busiest in the world. As such, ATC frequencies are very busy. It is all too common to hear flightcrews asking ATC "for the score of the game." The other day they were asking New York Center about the Red Sox game. (They were not playing here.) This is unprofessional and clogs the frequency. Those of us who need to talk to ATC should not have to wait for these hacks to shut up with their chatter.
__ ATP. Citation 550

Airports share ground frequency

Ground frequency for JFK and TEB are the same. There is constant interference when on the ground at TEB.
__ ATP. Hawker Siddeley HS125

Nonstandard frequency use

Published Unicom frequency for JZP (Jasper GA) is 123.0 on the sectional chart. Local pilots use a different frequency which could result in traffic in the airport area being on different frequencies.
__ ATP. Airbus A320, Cessna 172

These 4 Av Hazard reports all deal with frequencies. Although each one is different, they all underscore the need for pilots to be short, succinct and to the point. Unnecessary chatter or banter on busy ATC frequencies is unprofessional and, if nothing else, frustrating when you are trying to report on the frequency when someone is asking about the ball game.

Pilots and airports must use the frequencies published on the aeronautical charts. If you don't like the frequency, have it changed. If it can't be changed, use the published frequency as required. To do anything else is an invitation to a possible midair or other aircraft accident. When you find frequencies for ATC that are not published, take the initiative to improve the airport facility directories or other publications. Many documents have a section for recommended improvements-if we don't exercise those tools, things will stay the same.